In this session of the Dao Questioning Grand Ceremony, the Dao Sword Sect took in 16 inner sect and personally taught disciples. And before taking in these 16 inner sect and personally taught disciples, they had already taken in 165 outer sect and menial disciples.
Of these 175 outer sect and menial disciples, 3 had been promoted to inner sect disciples over the past 3 years.
Then, in the 47 years before this session of the Dao Questioning Grand Ceremony, they had taken in 27 inner sect and personally taught disciples, and 306 outer sect and menial disciples, bit by bit over time.
Of those 306 outer sect and menial disciples, 7 had joined the ranks of inner sect disciples.
In summary, in the past 50 years, the Dao Sword Sect had taken in a total of 524 disciples. Of them, there were 53 inner sect and personally taught disciples, and 471 outer sect and menial disciples.
However, the path of cultivating the Dao is not smooth sailing. The dangers and tribulations along the way are unpredictable. In those 50 years, a few dozen had fallen, and a few had left to join other sects.
And so, at this time of knocking on the Dao's door, a total of 494 disciples had gathered in the Dao Questioning Hall. Of them, there were 49 inner sect and personally taught disciples, and 445 outer sect and menial disciples.
The disciples of each peak had gathered in their own places. Adding the Chiefs and Elders, there were probably 600-700 people in the hall. For a time, it was noisy and chaotic, the sounds difficult to settle.
And among the Dao Sword Sect's 4 peaks, Dan Peak had the fewest people, but was the most eye-catching.
Because with one look towards Dan Peak's location, what could be seen was an impressive white tiger, mighty and domineering. The other peaks may have had more people, but where else could one find such a white tiger?
At the front middle chief position of Dan Peak was Qin Ran. On either side of him sat Long Qiqi and Li Shiyin. And then the three of them still could not compare to Chasing the Wind behind them.
It was no wonder that people saw not people but only the tiger.
Fortunately, the Dao Sword Sect disciples all knew that Li Shiyin, the white-clothed sword immortal, had a white tiger named Chasing the Wind. So although there was such a ferocious white tiger in the hall, it did not cause panic.
Not only did it not cause panic, it attracted quite a lot of attention. A white tiger like Chasing the Wind, so beautiful and mighty sitting there, it was hard for people not to look at him... he was even more captivating than the white-clothed sword immortal.
Qin Ran really disliked being the center of attention like this, especially because he had to secretly observe Jian Yuanjie and the others. With everyone looking over here, it was hard for him to watch unnoticed.
"I told you not to bring Chasing the Wind, but you insisted on bringing him. Look now, everyone's staring this way. What's this all about?" He scolded Li Shiyin in a low voice.
Li Shiyin had been sitting ramrod straight, her face like frost, fully embodying the image of a female sword immortal.
But upon hearing Qin Ran's words, her eyes lit up with laughter. She whispered back, "Master, don't you think bringing Chasing the Wind makes us look impressive?"
Chasing the Wind did indeed look impressive now... Actually, Chasing the Wind always looked impressive. His snow-white fur was sleek and smooth without a single impurity. His eyes had a natural line around them, shining brightly with the kingly might of a tiger. His mouth and nose were dignified, innately elegant.
Not to mention human aesthetics, even by the aesthetic standards of tigers, Chasing the Wind would definitely be an exceptionally handsome fellow.
Don't be fooled by his lazy, silly and stupid ways when at home, sprawled under the old spirit oak tree like a lump of white ice cream. But when he really went outside and stood up tall, raise his head, eyes shining, the fierce and arrogant aura of a tiger king would emerge in an instant.
Right now as he sat there at Dan Peak's spot, he fully represented Dan Peak's prestige - it really gave them a lot of face.
And which person, upon seeing this tiger, did not look happily upon him? Not just happily - at this moment feelings of admiration, envy and jealousy bloomed in their hearts.
Hearing Li Shiyin praise him, Chasing the Wind was even more smug, raising his neck even higher, eyes narrowed, displaying an imposing manner!
"Imposing his ass!" Qin Ran said helplessly. He could only observe Jian Yuanjie even more subtly with his divine sense.
After everyone had arrived and quieted down, Elder Gu Yueming appeared at the center of the hall. He once again used his half-dead sounding voice to give a leading speech, droning on and on for half an incense stick's worth...
Qin Ran discovered that whether in his past life or this life, every person in a leadership role was capable of useless blabber.
After Elder Gu finished speaking, the drawing of lots began.
Qin Ran saw him form hand seals, conjuring a ball of light out of thin air. That ball of light scattered, breaking into 494 strands of light that flew into the identity tokens of the 494 participating disciples.
"There is a number on your identity token, that number is your candidate number. And the person with the same number, is your opponent for this round," he announced to the disciples.
As his voice fell, the hall immediately erupted into commotion. Many disciples couldn't wait to take out their tokens and check their numbers, then started discussing with their friends. Of course, some clever ones hid their tokens for now, and shamelessly went to probe others for their numbers instead.
Li Shiyin also took out her identity token to check her number. She laughed to Qin Ran, "Hehe, Master, my number is..."
But before she could finish speaking, her mouth was covered by a hand.
She looked and saw Long Qiqi sprawled over Qin Ran's lap, one hand covering Li Shiyin's mouth.
"Are you stupid?" Long Qiqi glared at her and scolded.
"What is it?" Li Shiyin still didn't understand.
"What if your opponent knows your number and makes preparations ahead of time. What would you do then?" Long Qiqi asked.
Li Shiyin was puzzled. "I spar with people every day, everyone knows what I'm good at. The counter-strategies, those who know already know. What else is there?"
"What if they find a way to mess up your condition before you go on stage? Or directly prevent you from going on stage altogether?" Long Qiqi rolled her eyes and cursed in exasperation, "So stupid!"
Only now did Li Shiyin come to a realization, but she still felt it somewhat incredulous. She looked at Qin Ran uncertainly, "Master?"
Qin Ran showed Li Shiyin his identity token, which had the word "Judge" written on it. He smiled, "I'm a judge, I can't play favorites."
He wanted to see the progress his silly disciple had made over the years. He had no plans to directly help her this time.
"Humph! Stinking Master!" Li Shiyin pouted.
Looking at Li Shiyin's increasingly beautiful face, Qin Ran still felt somewhat uneasy. Although he had emphasized it many times before, he reiterated, "Remember, safety first, assessment second. Rankings, rewards etc are all secondary. You must not get injured, much less lose your life."
"With me being so powerful, and Seven Seven as strategist, we'll definitely clinch first place." Li Shiyin declared.
Knowing his silly disciple was deliberately trying to provoke him, Qin Ran ignored her and looked to Long Qiqi instead, feeling even more uneasy. He stressed again, "Pay attention to safety!"
At this time, the Sect Leader in the hall suddenly became spirited. He announced in a loud voice, "The preparations are complete. All stewards, elders and chiefs get ready. The knocking on the Dao's door officially begins now!"